"'Three Women Murder' Kim Taehyun Sentenced to Life Imprisonment in First Trial... 'Not Accidental but Planned Crime'"

Kim Taehyun Sentenced to Life Imprisonment in First Trial
Court: "Difficult to Conclude Objective Circumstances Justify Death Penalty"
Prosecution Seeks Death Penalty... Considering Appeal

Suspect Kim Taehyun, accused of breaking into an apartment in Nowon-gu, Seoul, and killing a mother and her two daughters, is being transferred to the prosecution at Dobong Police Station in Seoul on the 9th. Photo by Kang Jinhyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] Kim Tae-hyun (25), who was arrested and indicted on charges of murdering three women in a mother-daughter trio at an apartment in Nowon-gu, Seoul, was sentenced to life imprisonment.

The Criminal Division 13 of the Seoul Northern District Court (Presiding Judge Oh Kwon-cheol) held a sentencing hearing on the morning of the 12th for Kim, who was arrested and indicted on five charges including murder, theft, and special residential intrusion, and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

The court stated, "While the death penalty claim may be understandable, the court must consider the severity of the sentence and sentencing consistency with similar cases," adding, "Considering that the defendant has no criminal record exceeding fines, submitted a letter of remorse expressing repentance, apologized to the victims and their families in court, and the sentencing consistency with other serious cases, it is difficult to conclude that there are objective circumstances justifying taking the defendant's life that anyone would recognize."

Kim is accused of visiting an apartment in Junggye-dong, Nowon-gu, Seoul, on March 23 and sequentially murdering the three women in the mother-daughter trio. He committed this crime because A, whom he met through an online game last November, refused to meet and did not respond to his contact.

The prosecution indicted Kim in April on five charges including murder, theft, special residential intrusion, violation of the Information and Communications Network Act (information network infringement), and violation of the Minor Offenses Act. Throughout the trial, Kim claimed that he did not plan to kill A's family and that the crime was impulsive. From May until the 8th of this month, he submitted a total of 19 letters of remorse to the court.

However, the prosecution judged that Kim had thoroughly planned the crime in advance. At the sentencing hearing, the prosecution requested the death penalty, stating, "Considering that the defendant killed three victims and committed other crimes during the act, there is no room to consider any sentence other than the severest punishment."

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